[3] She was born in Grenoble, and as a 16-year-old office worker suffered a paralysis caused by Pott disease, from which she recovered after a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1921.
[1] In 1943, she agreed to shelter Henry Grouès (alias Abbé Pierre) from the Gestapo, and this began a relationship that would last for almost forty years.
The abbé took refuge in North Africa, but returned after the war to seek her out.
After the war, she continued as secretary to the Abbé Pierre, and she became known as “Mother Coutaz” by the people in need who visited his offices.
During France's exceptionally cold winter of 1954, the charity was almost overwhelmed by its task, and the abbé appealed publicly for assistance, while Lucie Coutaz looked after the day-to-day management.